Cisco 2811 Integrated Services Router Full Product Description

1. Short Overview

Naming & Variant Breakdown

• CISCO2811/K9: Standard AC-powered base router with IP Base IOS and K9 crypto licensing
• CISCO2811-AC-IP/K9: AC variant with inline PoE power distribution for IP phones
• CISCO2811-DC/K9: 48V DC telecom-grade power model for central office rack deployments
• -SEC/K9: Pre-bundled Advanced Security IOS image with firewall/IPS enabled
• -HSEC/K9: High-security bundle pre-equipped with AIM-VPN/EPII encryption module
• -VOICE/K9: Unified Communications bundle with CME/SRST voice licensing

Core Differentiators vs Cisco 2801

1. Adds1 dedicated NME (Network Module Enhanced)slot for high-density T1/E1 PRI trunk, IDS, and storage modules (2801 has no NME slot)
2. Much larger memory ceiling: Max 768MB DRAM vs 384MB on the 2801; factory default DRAM upgraded to 256MB from 128MB
3. Native external RPS redundant power supply connector for high-availability branch deployments (absent on 2801)
4. Higher mixed voice/data/security throughput, supporting multiple aggregated T1/E1/xDSL WAN links
5. Identical core layout: 4 HWIC universal slots, 2 internal PVDM DSP slots, 2 internal AIM acceleration slots, dual onboard Fast Ethernet ports, USB 1.1, CompactFlash storage
6. Rear-mounted expansion card slots for easier rack cabling (front slots on the 2801)

2. Hardware Interface & Physical Specifications

Modular Expansion Architecture

1. 1 × NME (Enhanced Network Module) slot
   High-density rear slot supporting enterprise-grade service modules unavailable on the 2801:
   • NM-2T1/NM-4E1 channelized T1/E1 PRI voice trunk modules for PBX interconnection
   • NM-CIDS-K9 dedicated IDS intrusion detection modules
   • AIM-CUE storage modules for Unity Express voice mail and auto-attendant
2. 4 × Rear Universal HWIC/WIC/VIC/VWIC slots
   Accept single-wide HWIC, double-wide HWIC-D, legacy WIC, analog VIC, and multi-flex VWIC voice cards; two slots support double-wide high-bandwidth HWIC-D modules:
   • HWIC: ADSL2+, VDSL2, G.SHDSL, serial, 4-port Fast Ethernet switch HWICs
   • WIC: ISDN BRI, synchronous/asynchronous serial, analog modem WICs for dial backup
   • VIC/VWIC: FXS/FXO/E&M analog station/trunk cards, multi-port T1/E1 fractional voice trunks
3. 2 × Internal motherboard PVDM DSP slots
   Host Packet Voice Digital Signal Processor modules to handle VoIP codecs, T.38 fax relay, and multi-party audio conferencing without occupying external expansion slots.
4. 2 × Internal AIM (Advanced Integration Module) daughtercard slots
   Dual independent slots for parallel workload offloading: AIM-VPN/EPII high-performance encryption, AIM-ATM SAR processing, AIM-COMPRESS data compression to reduce CPU utilization for heavy VPN and WAN trafficCisco.

Fixed Built-in Rear Panel Ports

1. 2 × Auto-MDI-X 10/100BASE-TX Fast Ethernet (FE0/0, FE0/1)
   Auto-negotiates 10/100 Mbps full/half duplex; fully supports IEEE 802.1Q VLAN trunking, inter-VLAN routing, LACP link aggregation to isolate corporate, finance, guest, and payment subnets.
2. RJ45 Serial Console port (115.2 kbps max baud) – local out-of-band CLI management
3. RJ45 AUX port – remote emergency access via external PSTN analog modem
4. 1 × USB 1.1 Type-A port – secure crypto authentication tokens, offline config/log backup storage
5. Removable external CompactFlash (CF) slot – primary storage for IOS images, configurations, persistent logging
6. Power inlet: Standard IEC AC socket (DC variant uses 48V negative terminal block telecom input)
7. RPS redundant power supply connector (unique to 2811/2821/2851)
8. Chassis ground lug + Kensington anti-theft lock slot for physical rack security

Memory & Performance Benchmarks

• Processor: High-performance multi-task RISC core with dedicated onboard crypto FPGA acceleration
• Default DRAM: 256MB; maximum expandable DRAM: 768MB via dual DIMM slots
• Default Flash memory: 64MB CompactFlash; maximum supported Flash: 256MB CF card
• Multi-service mixed voice/data/security throughput: Up to 40 Mbps aggregate wire-speed performance
• Hardware crypto acceleration: Native AES-256, 3DES, DES IPsec and SSL/TLS VPN offloading; scalable via dual AIM-VPN modules
• Maximum concurrent site-to-site IPsec tunnels: Up to 200+, expandable with larger DRAM and AIM encryption hardware
• Supported IOS releases: Cisco IOS 12.3T, 12.4 mainline / 12.4T universal multi-service images; feature sets unlocked via permanent chassis-bound software licenses (IP Base, Advanced Security, Unified Communications)
• Voice capacity: PVDM2/PVDM3 DSP modules support up to 120 concurrent VoIP calls; Cisco CME embedded call processing for up to 150 IP phones, SRST survivable remote telephony, Unity Express voice mail for up to 250 mailboxes

Physical & Power Parameters

• Form factor: 1U standard 19-inch rack-mount metal chassis with integrated rack ears
• Standard AC power supply: 100–240V 50/60Hz universal input
• DC variant (C2811-DC): 48V negative DC telecom input for central office cabinet deployments
• PoE variant (C2811-AC-IP): Integrated inline power distribution to feed IP phones via compatible switch HWICs
• Typical chassis power consumption: ~60W under fully loaded NME/HWIC/PVDM/AIM module configuration
• Front panel status LEDs: System power, fault alarm, CompactFlash activity, USB port, PVDM/AIM health, four HWIC slot status, dual Fast Ethernet link/activity
• Operating environment
  • Operating temperature: 0°C to +40°C below 1800m altitude; 0°C to +25°C above 1800m up to 3000m
  • Relative humidity: 10–85% RH non-condensing
• Dimensions (H × W × D): 44.5 × 43.8 × 8.9 cm (17.25 × 16.4 × 3.5 inches)
• Fully loaded weight: ~6.5 kg (14.3 lbs)
• No native chassis PoE output except for the dedicated -AC-IP power supply variant.

3. Cisco IOS Universal Image Multiservice Feature Suite

Core Routing & Multi-WAN Connectivity

• Full IPv4 routing stack: Static routes, RIP v1/v2, OSPF, EIGRP, BGP (Advanced IP Services license)
• WAN encapsulation support: PPP, HDLC, Frame Relay, ATM, ISDN, PPPoE/PPPoA for DSL, Dial-on-Demand Routing (DDR) for automatic backup failover
• HSRP/VRRP for router high availability redundancy; NHRP DMVPN hub-spoke multi-site overlay VPN architecture
• NAT services: Static NAT, dynamic NAT, PAT overloading, multi-address NAT pools, NAT64 IPv4-IPv6 transition support
• IEEE 802.1Q VLAN trunking, inter-VLAN routing, storm control, LACP link aggregation across dual Fast Ethernet onboard ports.

Unified Communications Voice & Fax Integration

1. VoIP signaling protocols: H.323, SIP, MGCP, SCCP native support for Cisco Unified IP Phone deployments
2. Analog/digital telephony via VIC/VWIC + PVDM DSP modules: FXS station ports, FXO PSTN trunk lines, E&M PBX tie connections, fractional T1/E1 multi-flex voice trunks
3. T.38 real-time fax relay over IP, fax passthrough, store-and-forward fax routing
4. DSP-accelerated voice codecs: G.711, G.729a, G.726, wideband G.722 audio
5. Enterprise telephony tools: Scalable multi-site dial plans, voice hunt groups, toll bypass to reduce long-distance PSTN charges
6. CME embedded call manager, SRST survivable branch telephony, Unity Express voice mail/auto-attendant hosted via AIM-CUE storage modules.

Enterprise QoS & WAN Optimization

• Base QoS tools: Weighted Fair Queuing (WFQ), per-interface traffic shaping
• Advanced QoS (Security/UC license): Low Latency Queuing (LLQ), Frame Relay Traffic Shaping (FRTS), WRED congestion avoidance, DSCP/802.1p traffic marking
• Link Fragmentation and Interleaving (LFI), cRTP VoIP header compression to eliminate voice jitter over low-speed DSL/ISDN backup links
• NBAR2 next-generation deep packet inspection for application-aware traffic prioritization of business-critical software.

Integrated Self-Defending Network Security Suite

1. Zone-Based Stateful Firewall (ZBFW): Deep application-layer inspection for HTTP, FTP, SIP, H.323 and all mainstream enterprise protocols
2. IOS IPS inline signature-based intrusion prevention with real-time threat detection and automated connection blocking
3. Dual AIM hardware-accelerated VPN stack:
   • AES-256/3DES/DES IPsec site-to-site branch tunnels
   • Cisco Easy VPN Remote centralized security policy provisioning for remote branch locations
   • DMVPN scalable hub-spoke multi-site overlay networks
   • SSL VPN for browser-only remote worker access without client software
4. AAA security framework: PAP/CHAP authentication, RADIUS/TACACS+ centralized access control and complete audit logging
5. Standard/extended ACLs, dynamic ACLs, anti-DDoS traffic policing, security zone segmentation to isolate sensitive POS payment and finance subnets.

Management, Automation & Operations

• Dual out-of-band management interfaces: Serial Console and AUX modem port for emergency offline IT maintenance
• Secure remote management: SSHv2, HTTPS, SNMP v3 (backward compatible with SNMP v1/v2c)
• Graphical configuration utility: Cisco Configuration Professional (CCP) for simplified zero-touch mass branch deployment
• AutoInstall automated remote IOS image and configuration download over WAN links
• Removable CompactFlash storage for easy IOS upgrades, configuration backup, and centralized log archiving
• Persistent syslog event logging, NTP time synchronization for consistent audit log timestamps
• USB port for offline config storage and two-factor authentication security tokens.

4. Typical Deployment Scenarios

1. Medium multi-subnet regional enterprise multi-service edge gateway: Dual T1 PRI NME voice trunk primary WAN, VDSL2 HWIC copper backup link, dual Fast Ethernet ports to segregate finance, engineering, staff, and guest VLANs, PVDM DSP modules supporting dozens of office IP phones, high-volume DMVPN IPsec tunnels to corporate headquarters, integrated ZBFW/IPS security stack for enterprise compliance.
2. Flagship multi-store retail voice gateway: ADSL2+ HWIC primary broadband WAN, ISDN BRI WIC dial backup, CME embedded call processing for on-site store IP phones, NME-CIDS intrusion detection module for PCI DSS payment security, AIM-VPN encryption for multi-store site-to-site VPN connectivity.
3. Global carrier managed medium-capacity business CPE: Universal dual-standard DSL HWIC copper broadband access, NME storage module for local log retention, dual AIM slots for parallel VPN encryption and data compression, DMVPN overlay to carrier central service hub, integrated firewall/IPS for tenant threat isolation.
4. Mid-tier enterprise networking training lab core router: Universal NME/HWIC/WIC/VIC modularity to teach high-density T1/E1 PRI voice trunking, multi-VLAN inter-routing, hardware-accelerated IPsec VPN, and full unified communications gateway labs; expanded DRAM/CF capacity fully supports feature-rich IOS 12.4T images unavailable on the entry-level 2801.

5. Standard Package Contents of CISCO2811 / 2811-DC / 2811-AC-IP

Separately Sold Optional Accessories

• HWIC/WIC/VIC/VWIC WAN and analog/digital voice interface cards
• NME enhanced network modules (T1/E1 trunk, IDS, Unity Express storage)
• PVDM2/PVDM3 DSP voice compression modules for VoIP and T.38 fax relay
• AIM daughtercards: AIM-VPN/EPII encryption, AIM-ATM SAR processing, AIM-COMPRESS data compression, AIM-CUE voice mail storage
• DRAM memory expansion DIMMs (256MB / 512MB / 768MB)
• CompactFlash memory upgrades (64MB / 128MB / 256MB)
• CAT5e Fast Ethernet patch cords, RJ11 DSL/ISDN telephone line cables
• External PoE injectors for non-PoE IP cameras and wireless access points
• External redundant power supply units (RPS) for high-availability branch deployments

Software Licensing Information

Short Commercial Catalog Summary